Editorial: Aviapolis is the hub of development
Mayor Pekka Timonen reflects on Aviapolis' position at the heart of the metropolitan area and the future of the area in an editorial in the first residents' magazine of the year.
Aviapolis is in the middle of Vantaa and the entire Helsinki Metropolitan Area. It is Vantaa’s largest centre of work and business. Aviapolis is also the second largest employment hub in Finland, which promotes competitiveness and innovation in our country every day.
At present, the Vantaa airport area produces slightly less than four per cent of our entire gross domestic product. The Uusimaa region, in turn, produces 40 per cent of the GDP, which means that Aviapolis plays an important role.
In the 1990s, the immediate area around the airport was seen as a noisy and problematic location. Currently, the area has about 37,000 jobs, 1,500 companies and 20,000 residents. In the 2030s, Aviapolis is planned to be one of the main centre of Vantaa: a home to 30,000 Vantaa residents and a workplace for up to 50,000 people.
Aviapolis is intended to become the most environmentally friendly airport city in Europe. At the same time, airlines aim to reduce emissions by means of new fuels and electric aeroplanes. The change is necessary for the future of air traffic, which is why massive product development resources are invested in it.
The strengths of the area are undeniable: developing housing and service offering, public transport and exceptional transport links via Ring III and the Lahdenväylä, Hämeenlinnanväylä and Tuusulanväylä highways. The business area, which runs as a strip alongside Ring III, is continuing to grow.
The economic and air traffic crises in recent years have also impacted Aviapolis but, looking at the big picture, they are probably only bumps on the path of progress. The largest hotel in Finland will be completed in the area in June, and the construction of DHL’s ultra-modern logistics centre has just begun. Other new projects are also under way.
The outlook for 2034 is fascinating, if all plans come to fruition. The Vantaa tram line is running in the area, the new aviation museum draws in visitors, and the day care centre, Atomi School and upper secondary school are complete. The Muura residential, business and activity neighbourhoods and hotels are under construction. With the construction of the Airport Rail Link, one of the busiest railway stations in the country is about to be opened in Aviapolis.
It is possible – and even likely – that Aviapolis and Tikkurila will eventually merge into a single dynamic urban centre. At that point, there will be no question that the centre of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is in Vantaa.
Pekka Timonen, Mayor of Vantaa
Read more
- This article was published in Residents' magazine 1/2024. Read the other articles on the resident magazine home page!
- Read more about Aviapolis area!
- Celebrate Vantaa 50 year anniversary with us!
